Manners
by demonicnargles
Summary: If you're mean to someone, why would they want to help you? You have to be polite. Tayuya learns this lesson just in time. Rated M for language. Naruto/Tayuya NaruTayu One-shot.


Manners

If you're mean to someone, why would they want to help you? You have to be polite. Tayuya learns this lesson just in time. Naruto/Tayuya NaruTayu

* * *

Pain. So much pain. Her legs were screaming with it, it shot through her back, and it ached everywhere else. Tayuya kept her eyes closed, and took a deep breath. She was not gonna cry. Even if she was all alone, dying in a fucking forest cause some shitty sand bitch threw a tree at her, Tayuya was not gonna cry. She slowly opened her eyes, and screamed when she looked straight into the face of that stupid blonde ninja from earlier.

Naruto jumped back, smiling sheepishly. "You _are_ alive, after all! I couldn't tell very well."

Tayuya snarled at him. "If you came to mess with me before I die, just fuck off, you little turd. I don't need your help."

Naruto hesitated for a moment, before he grinned again, anyway. "Of course you need my help! You're not dying, just injured really bad! And you're stuck underneath a tree. I can get you out and back to a hospital in no time!"

"You stupid fucker, I don't want your help! If you take me back to your shitty hospital in that shitty village, they'll interrogate me and keep me in prison until I die. Or maybe that's want you want, shit-head? To torment me until I die? No thanks."

Naruto's face darkened for a while, before brightening up. "Not to worry! I'll just take off your headband and say you're a villager whose house fell down! Then you'll be fine, and they'll take care of you and be nice!"

"You stupid motherfucker, why should I believe that?"

"'Cause I'm the best ninja ever, and I wanna help people everywhere and become Hokage!"

"So you're gonna do that by saving enemy ninja, instead of capturing them? You dumb fuck, you don't know anything at all. That's not how you'll become Hokage."

"That's how _I'm_ gonna become Hokage. I can help you, then you can help me!"

"Oh, so you think I'll betray Orochimaru just like that? You stupid shit, do you know what he'd do to me if he found out that I'd said anything?"

Naruto's face became serious. "The same thing he'd do when he found out you were no longer useful."

Tayuya's expression froze. The idiot had a point. Orochimaru didn't keep worthless ninja. As soon as he found out that she was this injured, and had failed her mission, she was toast. Shit. Shit, shit, shit...

Naruto continued. "I don't know lots about Orochimaru, but I know that he's a heartless bastard who has no problem killing his own ninja. I heard just how many sacrifices he used when he attacked Konoha." Then Naruto'l voice was all sunshine once more. "And besides, it's boring out here! You'll have more fun back in Konoha! I'll even bring you ramen so that you don't have to eat the shitty hospital food!"

"What does a dumb motherfucker like you know about the hospital? You're just a genin, you can't have been in there so much to know what the food really tastes like. Shitty hospital food is just a stereotype."

Naruto scowled at her. "The last time I wen to the hospital, they congratulated me on me 100th visit to ER. I know quite a bit about the hospital." And then he was back to normal. "Anyway, I'll get you out from under the tree here, and then I'll take you back to Konoha with me!"

Tayuya sighed. "You're an idiot. This tree weighs thousands of pounds. There's no way that you..."

She stopped speaking when several hundred clones appeared around them, and, with noticeable effort, lifted up the tree. Naruto pulled her out gently, careful not to disturb her more serious injuries.

That was not to say, however, that he was able to keep from causing her any pain at all. Just pulling the tree off her made Tayuya's legs shriek in renewed agony, and her back redoubled its painful throbbing.

"Oh, fuck! Oh goddamn this motherfucking shit cunt bastard ow ow ow! Put me down you man-whore, I'll die of pain! Why couldn't you just leave me under the tree you stupid bastard?! Put me down right now!"

Naruto dropped her onto the ground, even as his clones dropped the tree. Tayuya howled in excruciating pain.

"You stupid motherfucker why did you drop me?! I'm gonna fucking kill you, you stupid shit-head! Your whore of a mother should be killed for raising such a fucking retarded idiot! Goddamn you, you stupid little bastard!"

"Look, do you want to go to the hospital, or not?" Naruto was uncharacteristically curt with her.

"Just leave me the fuck alone, you stupid bastard!"

"Fine." And he walked away, leaving her on the ground in the middle of the forest.

Tayuya huffed by herself. Finally, that stupid idiot was gone. But her injuries still pained her. And as the adrenaline of shouting at the kid wore off, it hurt worse than ever.

Night fell, and Tayuya was unable to sleep because of the pain. Some time around midnight, it began to rain, and the rain quickly became a downpour. Tayuya choked and gasped in the rain, since she was lying on her back, unable to move. Her arms were strong enough to roll her over, but any time she attempted to do so, the pain in her legs and lower back became debilitating. More than one time that night, Tayuya passed out from the pain of trying to roll over. After a few hours of this, the rain stopped.

When morning came, Tayuya had never been so glad to see the sun. Maybe her soaked clothes would try out soon. The pain was bad enough, without having, itchy, wet clothes clinging to her like a second skin.

As she lay there, she suddenly wished that she had taken that bastard up on his offer. Even if it was a trap, she doubted that any torture could be worse than how she felt right now.

Her jaw ached from the constant clenching, but she couldn't stop. The pain was just so intense, even now. Tayuya wished her spine had broken, so that she couldn't fell her legs. Fuck, that hurt.

As the morning progressed, and the sun rose in the sky, Tayuya realized that she might very well die of thirst out here. She had no provisions, and no way of getting any. Although she knew there was a stream only a quarter of a mile away, almost no distance, as far as ninja were concerned, she knew should wouldn't even be able to move ten feet, let alone a quarter mile.

She was going to die.

Resigned to her fate, she lay there calmly, trying to accept her fate. She didn't want to to die, but she knew she was going to. She checked her pouch for kunai, carefully, so that she didn't disturb her legs, which still throbbed with terrible pain. Nothing. She couldn't even commit suicide to avoid death by dehydration.

Around noon, she heard a branch snap. She instantly stiffened, and just as instantly regretted doing so. Her entire body screamed in agony at the sudden movement, causing Tayuya to groan in pain.

The one who had caused the noise walked into view. That blonde bastard again.

Tayuya wanted to scream at him, to shout and curse and make him cringe at her angry words, but she dared not. Maybe he would take her to the hospital, and she would not say a word, if her silence might hget her medical attention.

Naruto walked over to her side, and sat down next to her, looking her in the eyes. His face was set like stone. "So what's your name?"

"Tayuya." Even to her, her voice sounded resigned to her fate of dealing with this bumbling blonde idiot. But she really needed his help. And if was even half as kind as he had offered to be yesterday.

"How'd you sleep? I left you alone like you asked, so it should have been great, right?"

Tayuya snarled, immediately losing her temper. "How do you think I slept, you fucking moron?! I was fucking dying of pain all night, and then the goddamn rain made it hard even to breathe!"

Naruto stood up and began to walk away. Tayuya's eyes widened.

"Shit! I didn't mean that!"

He looked back at her disinterestedly. Or that was what his expression looked like, anyway. He was hard to read. "You have something you'd like to say, Tayuya?"

Tayuya took a deep breath, wincing at the pain this sent through her broken ribs. "Could you... take me to a hospital?"

He just stared at her.

"Like you had offered to yesterday?" Her voice sounded plaintive.

He continued to stare.

Tayuya's voice became even quieter, and was tinged with regret and defeat. "Please?"

Naruto sighed and walked back over to her, but didn't move to pick her up. Tayuya could see that he was reluctant to help her, even now. She was desperate. She needed to placate him somehow. Was there some way she could make it up to him?

Naruto's hollow voice broke into her thoughts. "You know, most people in your position would be grateful to be saved at all. I offered you more than you could have possibly hoped for yesterday, and you turned it down. Why should I help you now?"

Tayuya begged, even as she hated herself for doing so. "Please! I'm sorry I was a bitch yesterday! I really need your help! I'll do anything to make it up to you, just please help me, and hide me like you had offered yesterday!" Tears were running out of here eyes, and back into her ears and hair.

Naruto made several clones, and one of them ran into the forest, returning with a stretcher that had apparently been waiting out of sight. Moving her gently, Naruto and the clones picked her up so carefully that Tayuya barely winced as the pain became slightly worse. They placed her on the stretcher.

Naruto and one clone picked it up while the others vanished in _poof_s of smoke. They stood there for a moment.

The blonde cleared his throat. "Is there something you'd like to say, Tayuya?"

"Thank you, Naruto."

Naruto nodded, and he and his clone began walking in the direction of Konoha. Tayuya closed her eyes, feeling comfortable enough on the stretcher to finally sleep. Her was someone she felt she could trust. Someone who was looking out for her. She had convinced him to help her, even after all the things she had said yesterday.

All it had taken was a bit of good manners.

* * *

So, yeah? Tell me what you think.

-demonicnargles


End file.
